Xerxes

Xerxes with Canadian Opera:

"It was Kimberly Barber's Serse, central to the action, which carried the show. Barber, a former COC Ensemble member - one of many this winter season - now active in Europe and the US, has matured into a first-rate artist. From her opening Ombra mai fu, lolling under the famous tree, she sang with firm, luscious tone, her phrasing, style and decoration in the repeats all outstanding. Serse's discovery of delight and subsequent fall into the uncertainties of love and its despair remain in the memory."

Peter Dyson, Opera, June 1999



"Kimberly Barber's noble and yet still vulnerable mezzo-soprano commanded the title role..."

Urjo Kareda, The Globe and Mail, January 28, 1999



"Barber's strong upper register gave brilliance to her coloratura passages, which Handel wrote for the star castrato Caffarelli. [...] she was in fine form in Xerxes' violent aria Se bramate d'amar, where she used the coloratura like a physical weapon, driving Romilda into the ground."

Tamara Bernstein, National Post, January 28, 1999



Xerxes, Seattle Opera

"Barber gives a different reading of the title role than Frederica von Stade, who sings in the Gold Series. She is more robust and less refined, almost earthy, on occasion. Her foot taps out the rhythm of a tune; she does a somersault across the floor. Her ebullience is catchy and attractive...Her singing is excellent..."

R.M. Campbell (addendum)



"As Xerxes, Kimberly Barber commanded plenty of firepower, with an attractively even mezzo-soprano that rises to an impressive high register."

Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times, February 24, 1997



"Barber's singing is excellent. Like von Stade, Barber possesses a silvery mezzo-soprano, capable of sustaining a long line, but supple enough to keep the coloratura aspects of the role readily in hand. Her voice is fresh and filled with glimmering colors."

R. M. Campbell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 25, 1997



"...the role is also being given a show-stopping interpretation by alternate Kimberly Barber. Barber's easy vocal ornamentation, her stylish period gesture and her feel for physical comedy will provide rich compensation for anyone unlucky enough to miss Miss von Stade."

Mary Murfin Bayley, Eastside Journal, February 21, 1997